We are fully in the mindset of growing as much of our own food as possible. Why?! Well, food security for one thing. We all saw what happened with empty grocery stores last year, and we discovered having less dependence on others for our food also provides a sense of peace. When people panicked last year, we didn’t feel the same level of stress, and that was partially because we had food at home. I never had realized how much peace a few little jars and and a stocked freezer could bring. Secondly, we CAN grow our own food. We have the space, some experience, and able bodies to do the hard work. Not everyone is in this position, but we are, so we see it as part of our job to raise our food so there’s more available for those who can’t. Thirdly, we can better control the quality of our food and spend less. Organic is expensive and it doesn’t mean it is coming grown to our standards. I know what was/wasn’t sprayed on my homegrown food, it is so much more flavorful, and it should have a higher nutrient count, due to the varieties we choose and the quick harvest to table timeline. People tend to think we don’t care about our health, because in this day and age we seem relaxed in our approach. On the contrary, we actually take our health very seriously, but our approaches are just different. Instead of constantly sanitizing and fearing other breathing things as possible biohazards, we get our hands dirty, raise those filthy animals, and actually welcome those microbes to grow us a good strong garden, hoping to reap the benefits in strong healthy bodies. Better health and nutrition is one of the biggest motivators for us in putting in the work to grow our own food. Lastly, we do all this is because we genuinely enjoy it. As a child, I didn’t understand my mom and grandma spending hours all spring and summer in the garden, fussing with flowers, battling bugs and more. Now I completely get it, dreaming of a garden that takes over a large portion of our property. I love the sun on my back, even if it means uneven tan lines. I love the dirt under my nails, even if it means they’re broken and never manicured. I’ll put up with the bugs, calling boys for a free science show when available. There’s so much failure, uncertainty, uncontrolled circumstances, work, sweat, and dirt in a garden but it provides a peace, a world to get lost in, and food for the table. So, there is a timeline ticking that cannot he moved. As always, the home projects are on the back burner. The baby doesn’t need it’s own nursery, but the the baby plants do, so the greenhouse and seed starting stations are underway. Seed StartingOur basement worked fairly well last year for starting seeds, so we’ve improved the setup to accommodate for more plants. Danny grabbed some plastic shelving so we can have lights and levels of seedlings growing in a small space. Like Cramer says, “Levels Jerry, Levels.” They may not be pretty but they’ll work and the plan is to use all that space and more for seedlings. The GreenhouseHow official does that sound! It’s technically not a greenhouse, because it’s not heated, but nevertheless it’s a start. Danny had the idea of turning the unused chicken run into a greenhouse and I was all on board. It’s not the perfect location, but it will do for protecting seedlings in spring. Our basement stays fairly cold, so eventually it becomes warmer to keep seedlings outside, if we can provide some protection. Right now, Danny has removed the old chicken wire and replaced the baseboards. The posts required a bit of leveling and then he’s putting up corrugated plastic panels. The day after he started was when we got our first snow, and we had snow on the ground for a month, which means work stopped until things melted. Getting under WayKnowing baby is coming at peak planting time has forced me to try my best to get organized, so the work can be passed off to those not caring constantly for a newborn. I've organized seed packets by week to be planted, with special instructions like direct sow, needs light, needs heat to help guide the process. Our garden notebook has how much of each plant is needed, and when plants can be moved outside and sown in the garden. Again, we'll see how much is actually accomplished, but there isn't any hope for success if we don't try. Feb. 19 we officially planted our first seeds. We've never tried onions before, but it is probably what we use the most in the kitchen. Of course, onions are also the plant that needs the most growing time, so planting begins now. Thankfully onions can be thickly sown and separated later, so it was a great thing to let the boys help out with. We're keeping most of our newly planted seeds upstairs to help with germination, since the basement is so cold, but once they sprout and get underway they move down to the basement and under lights. Peppers, basil, cilantro, and snapdragons have also been started, and each week more and more little seeds being put into pots. While February is known to be the depressing month, I think my least favorite is March, simply because I'm so impatient for what I know spring and summer will bring. I keep reminding myself planting things too early can be devastating and snow still regularly flies in March around here. However, the elderberry arrived and was planted, the green tips of the spring and summer flowers have poked through the ground, the redwing blackbirds can be heard singing, and the boys days are filled with mud puddles again. To officially be in planting season is so exciting, and makes spring seems so much closer. The robins have already begin making an appearance, the days are getting longer, lambs should be coming in a few weeks, and before we know it, the days of bundling up will be coming to an end. We've enjoyed every day of snow that we've been given this year, but I am ready to say goodbye to my oversized broken winter. Getting to enjoy growing seedlings with snow on the ground seems like a special blended treat of winter and spring together.
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We will never live in a completely toxic-free home, but ever since I began researching optimal health for our family, we’ve been on a path to getting our home as toxin-free as possible. I started researching before I had kids, but once they arrived I became even more concerned over the toxins. As I tried to figure out the puzzle of my son’s many symptoms, I became aware of all the things that could be throwing his little body off. For years we’ve dealt with eczema, random rashes, unexplained fevers, chronic belly pain, and reacting to so many foods that we felt like we were limited on what to eat. Now, all those symptoms are gone! We have brought back in foods we never dreamed the boys would tolerate again, their moods are better, and they don’t seem to be getting as sick as often. There’s been so many things at play in all the improvement, including prayer, but the changes we made we won’t go back on. Diet and improving the quality of our food has been a huge change, but that will have to be a whole different post. There are decisions we made in the past that weren’t the best (like our mattress), but it’s not in the budget to replace it, so I focus attention to areas we can fix. When we need something new, I take some time to buy better, at least as much as our budget will allow. Reducing toxins is a journey and be very overwhelming at first, but just taking baby steps can really get you so far. Now we’re the people friends and family look at and say, “I don’t know how you do it. I could never get there,” but I said the same thing years ago. We’ve made little changes over the years, not stressed over it (stress is nasty for health anyway), and all those changes slowly add up. We’ve done what works for us, prioritized what fit our needs, and just kept our focus on getting better. Not everyone wants to, or can do all the research, so I thought I’d share what our family has done so far as well as some great easy resources for more info. Obviously, I’m not a doctor and I’d never recommend taking any advice without doing your own research. This is just what we have done so far to make our home a healthier oasis. I personally don’t even trust my doctors’ advice, without looking at the opposing views. I want to make as educated of a decision as possible on what is best for me and my family. Perfection is a myth. We’ll never have a perfectly clean, toxin-free home in this fallen world, so I let go of that idea a long time ago. Little changes can go a long way and there were so many simple changes I wish I knew about years ago. I thought I’d share what we have done, just one mom to another, wanting to help make home as wonderful of a place for the little babies we raise in them. KitchenI’ve been working hard to get plastic out of our home for years. My mom always taught us it was better to avoid it, but convenience always won over health, until I decided to pick my uncle’s medical brain one day and ask what he thought was the most important thing I could do to get ready for baby. The answer, get rid of plastic, especially in the kitchen and baby products. I was shocked, expecting a vaccine conversion or something on diet, sleep, or child development, but he didn’t even have to think, he had his answer, REDUCE PLASTIC. That started my research and I found plastic is horrible, especially in the kitchen, and black plastic is the worst. So all black plastic went in the trash immediately, and then we slowly started switching other things over to better options. 1. Glass Storage Containers. These still have plastic tops, but I try to keep the food from touching the plastic. It is still better than all plastic or plastic wrap. I’d like to eventually try some stainless steel options too. 2. Glass and Stainless Steel Water Bottles . I really hate disposable plastic water bottles and we found we can avoid using them by just planning ahead and filling our own bottles at home before going out. We use a variety of glass and stainless steel. Kleen Kanteen being what we use for the boys. They’ve had glass bottles too and we’ve never had an issue with things getting broken. We also don’t drink out of cans, (sparkling water, etc.) as the aluminum and plastic lining (remember metal rusts so all cans have plastic coatings) leach in to the drink. 3. Abeego Food Wraps. I WON’T use plastic wrap ever after learning how bad it is. These Abeego wraps keep food fresh so much longer too! Aluminum foil is toxic too (aluminum and plastic) so we stick with Abeego and it is reusable. 4. Berkey Water Filter. This pulls any extra toxins out of our water. Research water filters and you’ll learn that something like a Britta is pretty worthless, although being plastic, it probably does add more plastic to your water. We got a scratch and dent Berkey on sale and couldn’t be happier. It’s way more expensive than a Britta, but is cheaper than other quality filters and it really works. We actually opted not to do reverse osmosis filtering because we wanted the minerals, which a Berkey doesn’t filter out, and again the price was easier on our budget. 5. Weck canning jars. These are gorgeous and don’t have plastic, which is found on the typical canning jar lids. (Again the rust issue.) These lids are reusable and look beautiful. They’re more expensive, so I buy a few here and there, hoping to slowly add to my stash. They’re also metric, which throws my math brain for a loop, but I can overlook it for an all glass option. With the canning lid shortage I think I may invest more into weck, I’m yet to figure out if they can be pressure canned but they are safe for water bath canning. 6. Cast Iron Cookware. No nonstick pans in this house. We love our cast iron. While there are even better cooking options, for our budget, cast iron is perfectly fine. You just have to remember not to use soap to clean them. We have mostly Lodge cast iron because it is more affordable but I also love Le Crueset. 7. Non-toxic Parchment Paper. While we don’t use plastic wrap or aluminum foil, I do like a good parchment paper. I like to keep a few rolls on hand of this stuff. 8. Glass Dutch Oven and Baking Dishes. Our glass dishes with lids are great for heating or reheating and not drying out food. We reheat leftovers in the oven this way instead of using a microwave. 9. Instant Pot. Microwaves are horrible, and food typically tastes worse after using one. From issues of EMFs and radiation, to altering our food, we decided we never wanted one. We’ve found everything can be reheated on a stove or oven in just a little more time, and food tastes better. The instant pot can cook a whole frozen chicken in 40 minutes and it falls off the bone, instead of that rubbery mess you get from a microwave. I will caution against the Bluetooth/WiFi model, while I’ve never looked into the EMFs specifically to this model, typically anything Bluetooth/WiFi is going to emit EMFs, so we opted just to be safe and go without. 10. Wood Cutting Boards. There’s a reason wood was used for years before we thought plastic was better. Even before I was going plastic free, I noticed flecks of plastic coming off our old boards and started to question the marketing ploy that plastic was healthier. And yes, we do cut raw meat on our boards and clean with lemon, salt and a little Castile soap. Wood has anitmicrobial properties and we buy good quality meat. Healthy animals, mean healthy meat and we’ve never had a problem, but having said that, each family must decide what they are comfortable with. With wood it’s best to get solid wood without a mineral oil sealer and avoid toxic glues. This Bambu brand is supposed to be good which we will be trying next. 11. Avoiding Food in Cans or Plastic. Metal rusts, so to keep those cans rust free they’re lined with plastic. Whether BPA or not, plastic just isn’t good. We buy everything we can with as minimal plastic because it does get into foods. The biggest things that really leach plastics are oils, apple cider vinegar, and tomato products. I will always pay a little more and pick the glass option if it’s available. 12. Using the right oils. Olive Oil, Coconut Oil, Avocado Oil, and Sesame Oil are our staples along with homemade raw butter and lard. I won’t use canola, vegetable oil, crisco, etc. and I really pay attention to smoke point guidelines. While not everyone agrees, olive oil isn’t recommended to be used at high temps. Since I have other options, I choose to reserve it for drizzling on food after cooking, or for slaw, dressings, and other non-heated recipes. If you’re sourcing high quality oil like Kasandrinos, then as long as it isn’t actually smoking, I’d be ok with cooking with it. We signed up for their subscription and get fresh olive oil delivered to the house. Here is a great smoke point printable to keep in the kitchen. BedroomsWhile it may seem dumb to dump crazy cash on bedrooms, it’s where we all spend 8 hours a day. When we sleep our bodies are try to heal and recoup, so giving them the best environment to do so helps them run at their best. The kitchen and bedrooms are where we made a big effort to save an buy better. 1. Non-toxic Mattress. I wish I could go back and rethink our mattress purchases, but you live and learn. The boys have beds from My Green Mattress, which we purchased when they occasionally ran a sale. It smelled a bit like hay, (it’s made of wool) but the smell was gone in a few days and little Danny loves hay so he didn’t mind at all. The bassinet mattress is Naturepedic. Our first crappy crib mattress is falling apart, so we’ll be upgrading to an organic one. We still have an old twin from my parents that was never sprayed with flame retardants because it’s so old, so we use that while we save up for new beds. 2. Non-toxic mattress protectors. Expensive mattresses better be protected from piddling babies am I right?! I love the boys cover and need to purchase another. Ours slightly melted in the dryer (I’ll not name names on who is at fault) but it still works. We try to keep two per bed just in case a sick child needs a sheet swap in the middle of the night. We have allerease for our bed. There are better options, but this was what worked best for our budget. 2. Plastic Free Blackout curtains. If curtains are lined with vinyl they off gas chemicals. We spent a little more money for better quality ones. We purchased what I call a better-not-best option from Pottery Barn. While it’s not exactly what I hoped for, it was more affordable and free of the nasties. Again, here is where we didn’t hit perfect, but it’s still better. They aren’t what I’d call blackout, but they do the job well enough. I can also always run another liner behind if we feel like we need things darker. 3. Salt lamp. These don’t have blue light and can be used at night instead of turning on a super bright light. They also claim to help filter the air, but you need to make sure it’s the right quality. A salt lamp should be pink, from Pakistan, and get water droplets on it during humid days. We keep ours on a saucer due to the water and make sure it’s on during rainy days. I love our one that has a dimmer because it can be left on at night. I don’t know if it really filters the air but it helps cut down on bright blue light so I’m happy with that. 4. Organic/ No Spray Pjs. There’s lots of good options out there. I keep anything that isn’t sprayed. If I’m buying I usually go with Burts Bees but Hannah Andersson and Milkbarn are other good options. I just wish milk barn sold more than baby sizes, their clothing is too cute. 5. Diffusers. Air fresheners, scented candles, sprays, and whatever else people may scent their homes with are all toxic and really bad for our health. We made the switch to diffusers and Essential oils. I may boil a small pot of cinnamon and apple cores or clove and oranges for a special popouri smell, but the diffusers are typically our go to. I always associated air fresheners as masking a hidden area of grunge, so I’m not one who needs much of a smell in the house. If you do need a scent, essential oils are much better. I hate the diffuser lights so I have one similar to this for the bedroom and this one looks pretty sitting in our living room. We have a total of four in our house which works pretty well for our needs. Bathroom and laundry1. Non-Vinyl shower curtain. The heat from the hot water makes the plastic on a shower curtain off-gas, meaning you breathe plastic fumes every time you shower. We use fabric liners and haven’t had any issues with them. They actually last longer, don’t get slimy, and can be washed, although I will say our hard water does stain them beyond fixing. 2. Norwex Body Cloths. We really don’t need as much soap as we think. These clean with water just fine. I wish I could fall in love more with these but the hard water doesn’t mesh well. I’ll still use the baby body cloths though. 3. Shea Moisture Products. Not every product of theirs is perfect, but most are pretty decent. I use their shampoo, conditioner, and baby soap for when the kids are barn filthy. 4. Castile Soap. This is my go to. Bar and liquid, you’ll find this all over our house. A little goes a long way and we use to to wash dishes, hands, dogs, floors, and even in our homemade baby wipes. They have lots of scents, which I keep on hand for different tasks. Peppermint for floors (spiders don’t like it), rose or lavender for hand, dog, and dish soap as well as diaper wipes. We’ve had good luck with most brands. They even sell travel size ones that you can put in a purse to use instead of the toxic stuff most public bathrooms carry. I really am not a fan of hand sanitizer so this is our alternative. We’ve even used our water bottles to wash hands at the car instead of dousing in the hand sanitizers. 5. Bon Ami Cleaner. This stuff is the better version of comet. I use it to clean tubs, showers, toilets, sinks, and the glass stovetop. I think it works just as well and it doesn’t have that awful chemical clean odor. 6. Wool Dryer Balls. I use these instead of dryer sheets. Just put a few drops of essential oil on them and toss them in the dryer with the clothes. I also like line drying when I can. The sun helps pull those nasty chemicals out and I spray them with an essential oil linen spray right before I take them in. 7.Laundry Detergent. I use a variety, but detergents can get pretty toxic so I won’t just use anything. What you put on your clothes sits on your skin and you breath in those chemicals all day. This was one of the first things our pediatrician suggested switching when our son started battling eczema. Branch Basics, Charlie’s soap, soap nuts (they’re actually nuts), and good old baking soda with tea tree essential oil are my go to’s. Branch Basics founder has an incredible story about the impact of toxins and how they developed the line to help those who are chemically sensitive. It’s annoying to no be able to go to the grocery store and pick up something good, but when we run out we can always use baking soda until the next order comes. MEDICINE CabinetEveryone has heard “you get what you pay for” but when it comes to food we typically go cheap, complain of high prices, and think quality doesn’t matter. I disagree and think quality in food, vitamins, etc. is very important, and we do our best to source the healthiest options for our family. While a high price does not guarantee a supplement or vitamin is good quality, a low priced “deal” should raise some red flags. Remember nothing is ever free, someone somewhere is paying for that saving, and sometimes we save with our wallets and pay with our health. If something isn’t in the budget we tend to go without. We’d rather not waste money on something that isn’t good, but everyone has to decide what works best for them. We research what we buy and make the best choice we can but nothing is ever perfect. 1. Beekeepers Naturals Propolis Throat Spray. We use this at any hint of cold/sore throat and it typically stops anything in its tracks. We won’t travel without it. 2. Mullein Garlic Ear Oil. Another thing we’re never without, this has stopped us from needing antibiotics for ear infections. At any hint of pain, a few warmed drops are put in both ears and the boys are usually pain free in 24 hours. I learned of this from pediatrician Elisa Song and it has been one of the best things we’ve done. 3. Xclear Nasal spray. Another thing I heard pediatricians recommend for flying, time spent with other kids, and just plain sniffles. The boys don’t like using it, so I only use it when there is a chance of early sniffles or congestion, or a known exposure to a sick kid, but I do feel like it helps cut the colds. 4. Honey. Raw local honey that hasn’t been heated, processed, or stored in plastic is what we want. Honey helps so much with sore throats and coughs. I break my plastic rule and do keep a few honey sticks in the car for on the go issues. Soda Pharm sells herbal powders you can mix into honey. We like their immune boost and tummy one for the boys, and they love their daily “honey vitamins.” 5. Cod Liver Oil. We use it fall-spring daily and the boys like lining up to take it and singing Baby Fishie. Since I don’t do supplements with them, I make sure they get this daily. 6. Elderberry and Echinacea. I add an echinacea tincture to the boys elderberry syrup as needed. We’ve made syrup before, but the berries are hard to source, so we find it easier to purchase it. They love it and I always try to find one made with real honey. Gaia herbs is a good source and our favorite is Wild Child Remedies with the added rose hips. They take this daily fall-spring and 2-3 times a day when coming down with something. 7. Vitamin A, D, C. While I take a variety of vitamins and supplements, I’m not anal about it and honestly take them based on how I feel every day. In the winter I do regularly make sure I’m taking A, D, and C in some way. If I don’t take a multivitamin, I’m definitely using all of these. If I brave the cod liver oil that day, I may cut back on the A and D, but I get it one way or another. We like the Seeking Health brand for our supplements. 8. Essential Oils. I’m not one that believes essential oils are a cure all, however if fragrances can be dreadfully toxic to us by just smelling them, it makes sense essential oils can have benefits as well. We buy from several brands, but with oils quality is everything. If it’s cheap, it’s probably just that, cheap. One way I check to see if a company is selling decent oils is checking their price on undiluted rose oil. If they’re selling it under $200 it’s probably not legit, which means I probably can’t trust their other oils either. We buy mostly from Plant Therapy or Rocky Mountain Oils but we’ve tried Young Living, Doterra, Edens Garden and others. 9. Badger Balm. If there’s one thing my kids think is a cure all it’s Badger Balm. They love it and use it on any bump, scratch, rash, or for no reason at all. We love the baby balms and use their sunscreen and chapsticks. It’s one of the few brands I trust on almost all their products. 10. Wellnesse toothpaste. I discovered Wellness Mama years ago, and her blog and podcast have helped so much with our health journey. Their new toothpaste is remineralizong and free of all the nasty products in other toothpaste. My kids hate mint, so they haven’t made the switch, but this is the only toothpaste I’ll buy. Until this came out I was making my own tooth powder using Wellness Mama’s recipe. We occasionally use activated charcoal for a whitener and it works wonders and no more sensitive teeth from whitening treatments. 11. Crystal Synergy Cream: This is probably the weirdest thing I use, but it definitely helps get rid of pain and general discomfort. I discovered it back in high school when my doctor recommended it. He said he didn’t quite know how or why it worked, but all his patients claimed it worked so I gave it a try. It’s basically crushed crystals that have been mixed into a cream, and I use it for pain relief, headaches and even stomach discomfort and have gotten relief. It’s not the easiest to find. Amazon used to carry it, but hasn’t had it in stock for a while. The cream is worth tracking down in my opinion. It just have to add I am not for the spiritualistic side that sometimes is behind the crystals, yoga, and meditation. I strongly believe that there is a spiritual side to health and you don’t want to mess with the wrong thing. Christ and the Bible are my only sources of spiritual growth and mediation. Take my advice or leave it, however I couldn’t recommend this product in good conscience, without warning I don’t support the alternative, spiritualistic side that others may want to offer with it. 12. Herbal Remedies. My biggest area where I’d love to grow is my understanding of growing and using herbs. The more and more I try, the more impressed I have been at how beneficial they can be. I mentioned Soda Pharm above, but if you are in Ohio, taking a trip there to talk to Dawn is worth it. We love their teas, their honey mixes, and their bitters. Dawn even made me a pain reducer that was safe for pregnancy and has helped a lot. Whether you’re local or not, there are plenty of herbal shops, books, and trained herbalists you can find. Dawn has a few books, and if you are local she offers classes on a variety of different topics. Typically, a larger farmers market may have someone who is knowledgeable about herbs, and I’d recommend picking their brain for local resources. Other Miscellaneous Things1. AFM Safecoat Paint. This is the only non-toxic brand available. All other eco paints may be good for the environment, but they’re not good for us. As things need painted in our home, we now paint with this. Not all their colors match our home perfectly, but they say they can color match, and for us it’s worth not getting the perfect color to avoid the toxins. I’m sure my mom would disagree being an interior designer, but hopefully if we ever need to color match, they will do a decent job. Safecoat sells stains, sealers, and plenty of non-toxic home products. 2. No Bluetooth or smart devices. Bluetooth, wireless, phones, and all the fancy gadgets put out EMFs, which is basically electro magnetic pollution. We might not feel it, but it can affect our cells function, sleep habits and more. We opt for the non-Bluetooth option every time. We even disassembled our sump pump’s back up battery, because it’s WiFi was making our house test through the roof when we tested for EMFs. While Alexa type devices may be fun, we don’t think the health concerns are worth it and choose to steer clear. 3. Shutoff Timer for Wireless Router. A simple plug in timer for the WiFi makes sure it shuts off every night while we’re sleeping. Our router is downstairs, directly under where the boys sleep, so I really want it off while they’re in bed. Maybe someday I’ll get Ethernet cables run through my house and ditch the wireless, but for now this is what we do. Our wireless was the biggest EMF offender other than the sump pump battery so we’d prefer to have it off when it’s not in use. 4. Beeswax Candles. All other candles pollute the air in your home, but beeswax is a purifier. After being at a friends once for hours around beautiful candles, only to come home with a sore throat and discover the inside of my nose and my baby’s was black, I was finally convinced to throw out my scented candles and make the switch. Beeswax has a beautiful faint scent, and the boys love making candles to give as Christmas gifts. 5. Non-toxic furniture. This has been a tough one. Most non-toxic furniture isn’t my style and is pretty expensive. We just purchased a new couch, which wasn’t from a green line, but the company didn’t spray any of their fabrics (stain preventers, fire retardants etc.). I also chose a style that would be fairly easy to recover, so we don’t have to keep dealing with an off gassing couch every time we need a new one. I’m not sure what they use for cushion fillers, but it was a decent find. Our other furniture is mostly hand me downs, thanks to generous family and friends, which means these things are a few years old and have already off gassed a lot of their chemicals. Swapping in fresh pillows and embracing a more antique-friendly style, helps hand me downs fit in our home well. Also, we lucked out with friends and family having pretty good style, so I can’t complain. 6. Open Windows. Our windows are open spring-fall, even with rain thanks to a few overhangs. With all the toxins in our homes, indoor air can be more toxic than outdoor, unless you’re in a highly polluted city. Switching from heat to AC and back, isn’t giving the home the same cleanse that opening the windows provides. Even in the winter, I’ll take advantage of the warmer days and allow a fresh breeze to blow in for 20 minutes before closing things back up. 7. No Carpet. Carpet is one of the biggest offenders in home pollutants, sometimes still off gassing 15-20 years later. New carpet is just plain toxic, and even if you splurge on non-toxic or have old carpet, the dust and mold that gets trapped still isn’t worth putting up with in my opinion. If you’ve ever pulled up carpet, it’s shocking the dirt that is trapped underneath. My home had dust bunnies older than my grandparents stuck under our ancient horsehair carpet. No amount of vacuuming gets it all clean, so we opt for area rugs instead. Most of our rugs are hand me down oriental rugs, which can be moved, cleaned, and vacuumed under. We skip the plastic filled rug pad and do just fine. The only place we have carpet is our super steep old stairs. It’s high quality 20 year old carpet that sat under my moms couch completely untouched. This seemed like the best option when faced with the possibility of little babies slipping with socks and tumbling down. Again, it’s all moderation and doing what makes the most sense for our family. 8. No Roundup or yard treatments. Yes we’re surrounded by crop sprayed land, but our little farm doesn’t do any weed spraying, bug spraying, chemical fertilizing, etc. Our gardens are filled with compost and our yard fertilized by chickens. I don’t spray for spiders in the fall, which is tough, and while it may be some extra work weeding, we’d rather not have the exposure to all the chemicals on our property. Our one son seems to react a bit to highly sprayed products, so that’s been part of the drive to avoiding it. Thankfully our neighbor is really considerate about giving us the heads up when he’s spraying and makes an effort to not spray when it could blow towards the house. Helpful ResOurces1. Think Dirty App. Not a huge fan of the name but this app helps you find clean products. You can scan barcodes and get ratings quick and it breaks it down really easily. 2. Just Ingredients on Instagram. This account makes it easy find better products, know what to swap, and it’s super easy, minimal reading required. She also has her own line of products. 3. Wellness Mama blog and Podcast. This was helpful in getting research info. 4. Mommypotamus blog. Great recipes, cleaning recipes, and baby info. I’m sure we’ll still make some mistakes in creating a non-toxic home, but my focus is creating the best home for my babies that fit with our stage of life. With every choice we make, things get a little bit better. When we go out, we don’t stress over the little things, because we know we come home to our little oasis. Our house may not be top of the line, designer perfect, but it fits our family’s needs and feels like a home.
Ground lamb is one of our favorites and lamb kofta is our go to recipe. It’s basically middle eastern style meatballs that make the traditional meatballs seem like Spaghettios. We serve it with turmeric rice, homemade kefir sauce, and if we want to add a bit more, we include sautéed peppers, onions, and fresh hummus. It’s a fairly easy meal to whip up and the boys squeal with excitement over this dinner. The fattiness of the lamb makes it moist and buttery. If you've never had lamb, or think you don't like the taste of it, you may have had some that wasn't cooked well. The key with lamb is to not overcook it. Lamb should be slightly pink inside, even in this recipe. Overcooking lamb is a mistake. In our American, fast food, poor quality food culture, we've been trained meat is only safe if its been cooked to oblivion. We pull all the flavorful, nutritious fat out and cook that lean hunk of meat until it is dry and flavorless. There is a lot to say for good meat sourced from a well cared for animal. The Why behind what we Eat... Don't listen to me, do your own research and look into the of the popular dietary recommendations. A lot of times there is another side to the argument, and depending on an individual's health concerns, sometimes what is healthier for one person, may be different that what is the popular recommendation for most people. The Fatty MEatIf you’re one that’s still on the lean meat only diet, I’d challenge you to look at the other side of the argument, because there definitely is one. Good quality, pastured, grass fed fat is loaded with nutrients and we’re fully comfortable with consuming it. I may deny my kids Oreos, but they can have as much lamb fat as they want. We use the leftover fat up, adding it to rice or cooking eggs. None of it goes to waste, and the flavor it adds takes the food to a whole new level. The White RiceI know...everyone says rice is bad, no one should eat it, if you do eat it, only consume brown rice, etc. I love white rice and always have. Much of the world couldn't survive without it, and as much as it may surprise people, I do question completely eliminating a entire food source that seems to have been provided by God to sustain life. I tend to ask "why," to these types of recommendations, and usually they stem from something we've messed up with either how we grow or prepare a food. Rice seems to be one of those things. It is better soaked and drained before use, and with the high arsenic counts for rice, white rice actually seems to be the better choice. Again, we try to source higher quality rice, and while I always plan to presoak, I rarely remember to actually do it. Where we choose to avoid rice is in more processed things like brown rice flour, cereals, rice crackers, and the like. I tend to think the overconsumption of rice probably comes from eating too many gluten free snacks and cookies than a bowl of rice at dinner, but that is just my uneducated, non-medical opinion. We add turmeric for the little bit of flavor, color, and health benefits when we cook rice, but it could be easily left out. The Raw KefirWe drink only raw milk. It is the only way my family can consume milk and not get sick. Raw milk in Ohio cannot be purchased at the store, sold in a restaurant, or technically sold anywhere. How you get access to it is by joining a herd share, something I wish we did years ago. Basically, we own part of a cow, which we pay someone else to care for, and we choose to use our cow by consuming the milk. Yeah, it seems like a real backwards way to drink milk, but that's what we have to do. Kefir is fermented dairy, a similar concept to yogurt, however it doesn't taste like it. I make it daily by pouring my raw milk into a jar of kefir grains, leaving it on the counter for a day, and then straining it. What I'm left with is a effervescent, sour tasting, probiotic rich liquid. We use this to make the sauce. Kefir can be purchased at the store, or you could use a plain yogurt. If you are using a store bought option, you may end up with a slightly milder tasting sauce than compared to using a raw kefir. While we use very close to farm, home raised, high quality ingredients, this recipe will still taste good with completely store bought ingredients. If you want to take it to the next level, try some of the above suggestions, but it is still worth it even if you can't access grass-fed lamb or raw kefir. Please, just don't overcook that lamb. We adapted this recipe out of a cookbook called the Ethical Omnivore and highly recommend it. Not only does it have different recipes for all types of meat, it also explains a lot about raising animals sustainably and cooking nose-to-tail.
When in frustration you throw out the cookbooks and decide to wing it with dinner, it is always a pleasant surprise when it all turns out to be a delicious meal. Finding recipes for cooking wild game isn’t as easy as searching for the common chicken or turkey recipes. Wild birds are typically smaller in size, the flavors can be richer, and sometimes I feel like I’m speaking another language when I’m asking about pheasant, duck, or other game bird recipes.
Danny takes Elmer out a few times each year to hunt, and they’ll bring back a handful of birds over the season. We usually make a hunters soup with our game birds, so for this recipe I cooked the birds in a way that is complementary to the soup. Whatever is leftover will go straight to the soup recipe. I can just pull out the bones, leave everything else in the pot, and already be halfway finished with our soup recipe for the next day. The richness of the flavor in this recipe made it hard to resist sneaking a few onions out of the pan to snack on, as I cleaned up dinner. I just love a good rich red wine flavor in my winter meats. I’ll try to get the hunter soup recipe up soon because it is such a great winter soup and overflowing with flavor. Soft caramels are probably my favorite candy of all. Once the boys went dairy free, making these became a bit more challenging. Coconut cream is acceptable but it still wasn’t quite what I had in mind. After discovering cane sugar to be my son’s biggest trigger, I basically gave up all hope that making caramels was possible. Then we discovered raw milk, unpasturized creamy goodness the way God intended, and my dairy intolerant children could drink a much as their hearts desired. Raw milk means we get raw cream, and suddenly I realized my caramel dreams were a possibility again. I crossed my fingers and tried some coconut sugar, and by golly it worked! I honestly didn’t notice a flavor difference and sprinkling some Redmond’s real salt on top was the perfect addition.
We are full swing into my favorite part of the season. I love fall and my favorite holiday has always been Thanksgiving. The food is my favorite, the coziness, the plaid skirts and wool blankets, a crackling fire. There’s definitely a nostalgic feel I have for thanksgiving, even though Thanksgiving at my great-grandmothers has been long gone for many years. Christmas comes with fun and excitement, but lots of stress, to-dos, and expectations from others that Thanksgiving always seems to avoid. Every year we always take a month of Thanksgiving in our little home, that way we can enjoy the time as a quiet reflection on the many blessings we’ve been given. Think, what would it be like if everyone spent just as much time on their Thanksgiving list of blessings, as they do their Christmas list of wants? How many of us have our coveted Christmas list written down, ready to go at the first of November? What if we all just stopped? What if we put ourselves on hold, and actually looked at all we have? Maybe our Christmas lists would end up a bit smaller. Maybe we’d be more focused on others than ourselves. Maybe the stressful to-do and have to expectations wouldn’t be so many, because we’d be more interested in serving others, than making sure December hits all of our expected wishes. As a culture we see it as valuable to be a planner. You are weeks ahead, ready for anything, ready in time for the sales. What if we were that ahead in our thanksgiving for the blessing God gave us? Don’t think I’m saying this because I’m exempt. I’ve already made my gift list of ideas for everyone one my list, but at home we’ve not made them for OURSELVES. Eventually, I’ll ask the boys what they’d like. They’ve been staring at the same toy magazines for 2 months already. We have found that taking time to be thankful for what we have, gets us all in a better mindset. We are more joy filled and want to serve others, because when we acknowledge all of our blessings and quit complaining of the negatives and wants, we naturally open our eyes more to others. There’s no set rule of no Christmas music allowed, or no toy magazines, or shaming the kids for taking about what they want. Come the first of October, the boys love heading out to Rural King and watching them slowly bring in the Christmas toys over the next several weeks. Gratitude is more a mindset I keep myself and I focus our conversation on thanksgiving. This year we’ve pulled out our verse cards, which I save every year in our thanksgiving box. Over the years we’ve recorded a card for each person (and dog), listing the things that make them a special blessing in our lives. I have glittery leaves we write other things we’re thankful for and hang them throughout the house. All these things get saved, so we can remember and look back at all the ways God has blessed us over the years. Since the kids are young we accept any simple thankful answer, but Danny and I also try to spend time in deeper thought over things we’re thankful for that happened over the year. Usually for me, this is a lot of seeing the silver linings in the challenges God allowed. This was something my mom always challenged us as we got older, removing the easy things of being thankful for and making us really think what specifically about God, family, friends, home, etc., that was special to this year. I’ve shared some of these things over the years on the blog, including my thanksgiving for how God used my anxiety, and the lessons God taught me when I became a mom. I think it’s important to have things documented so we don’t forget, and I think it’s important to share with others the ways God has blessed and encouraged us. Along with our verses, I’ve included hymns this year. Hymns have a real uplifting power to them, getting our focus so quickly off ourselves and on to God. This year I’ve been playing the following list for the boys at breakfast. I have been letting them watch the videos of creation with it, which makes it a real fun treat. Here is this years list: To God Be the Glory How Great Thou Art This is my Fathers World Praise to the Lord the Almighty Count Your Blessings Here are our Verses: James 1:17 Psalm 7:17 2 Corinthians 9:11 Psalm 28:7 Psalm 30:12 Psalm 9:1 Psalm 95:2 I’m always looking for good Thanksgiving books, which are so hard to find. Most are too boring, too in-depth for my kids ages, or just twaddle. I’ll share all our fall books in another post but for Thanksgiving specifically, there are a few things that I do enjoy using every year. Little House in the Big Woods by Laura Ingalls Wilder Thanksgiving in the Woods by Phyllis Alsdurf The Crossing by Donna Jo Napoli Pilgrim Thanksgiving by Wilma Pitchford Hays Seaman’s Journal: On Trail with Lewis and Clark by Patricia Reeder Eubank Poetry and Short Story Collections: The Blue Sky Book Who Tells the Crocuses’ it’s Spring Through Golden Window Series: American Backgrounds Stories of Early America Summer is here in her full furry, the fourth has come, and gone, our little finches have nested and raised another brood, the babes flying away from their nest this very week. Somehow, the cool rainy days of spring, that teased us relentlessly with hopes of sunshine and warmer weather, are only a faint memory as the prickling heat of summer beats down on our shoulders. This week we’ve received some much needed rain and a break from the smothering heat we’ve been facing, and the entire farm is appreciating the cool air. Our gardens are overflowing with growth, showing hints of the bounty that will be upon us soon. We dropped the first round of meat chickens off at the processor this morning and we can’t wait to get a nice pastured chicken back on the dinner table. The boys have been enjoying catching lightning bugs, making bonfires, and of course continuing to perfect their many construction sites throughout the day. Summertime means late nights, sweltering days, fans humming, tan lines, dirty feet, and meals enjoyed on the patio and swing. In the garden the garlic has been harvested and replaced with buckwheat seed, the peas have hit their peak, the kale bolted and seed has been collected and stored for fall plantings. The broccoli is cut, but the topless plants remain as a trap for cabbage worms until the cabbage is harvested. New raspberry plants and grape vines have been planted, the window boxes are full and blooming, the humming birds buzz between flowers, and the boys sunflower fort is coming along. It’s hard to believe we’re already at the beginning of the fall planting season, starting seedlings again in the basement so they can be moved out when cooler weather comes. The pastures are filled with Queen Anne’s lace and blue cornflowers, and the sheep are all quite plump from months of fresh green grass always beneath their feet. The chickens haven been laying more eggs than we can use, and a fresh littler of kittens mew under the laundry room step. Clothes are out drying on the line, and the boys are always snacking in the garden on strawberries before breakfast. The kitchen is filled with fresh smoothies to chase away with heat, homemade ice cream, peach and berry baked oatmeal, sourdough einkorn loaves, and lots of Thai basil dinners. Dandelion, pineapple weed, chamomile, roses, oregano, thyme, lemon balm, mint, and clover have all been harvested and dried for teas and put away for winter. We made rose water and jewel weed tea cubes for fighting poison ivy. The kombucha is fermenting along with our first batch of beet kvass. Fresh mint water kept in the fridge, daily cappuccinos made for the boys drizzled with local honey. While most of the country does summer reading programs, there aren’t nearly as many books read right now around here. The boys are too busy digging holes, inspecting birds nests, driving tractors, and raiding the garden. They are learning to do laundry, to help in the kitchen, to pull weeds, and know flower names. Come winter we’ll snuggle back in to our stories but for now we’re enjoying our nature poems at meal time and a book or two before bed. So much has happened in these last few weeks, each thing so small and trivial they would hardly be noticed by outsiders, but it’s what makes our life at home so special. Each little thing is a sign of summer, of life on the farm, of a slower pace, yet bursting at the seams with activity.
We started seeds and boy does it feel good! The boys loved helping spread the dirt into the cells. Little Danny helped plant a few seeds and I finished the rest, while Benjy played with the spay bottle for an hour. We held hands, sang Kumbaya, they listened perfectly, and no one got dirty. (Ha!) Let me tell you, planting seeds indoors with two little boys is exactly the disaster you'd expect. Dirt and mud were everywhere, they were shaking seed packets like they were maracas in a mariachi band, a stuffed animal got in the mix, way more things were sprayed than necessary, there were squabbles and snotty noses, tractors plowing, and dirty footprints left on my white floors. It would have been way easier, cleaner, and quieter doing it alone in a quaint greenhouse and probably a higher success of things actually growing. I knew all this from the start as they were helping roll up the rug. As I set everything out, I took a deep breath and silently reminded myself, "it will be a disaster, but its ok. Vacuums work miracles. If they don't see me frustrated then they will think its the best time ever." This year I want them included in as much as they would like. Our plan is to expand the garden and try to grow a lot of our own produce. This means starting seeds, canning, storing, preserving, pickling, rotating crops, and lots more that is all new to us. Will we fail? Yes... Will there be mistakes, changes we would've made in hindsight? Definitely... ...but were still doing it. You know the whole, "First if you don't succeed, try, try, again." Well, it wasn't until I started (and failed) my first vegetable garden that I realized I definitely lived by, "First if you don't succeed... ...Then QUIT!" To be more specific: Quit hard and sweep the failure under the rug, complain about how its a dumb idea, and try to hide the fact you ever tried. I saw failure as the end all, something to be embarrassed over, and just add it to the list of "its just not my thing." My first garden, I grew puddles. The grass was so nice where we wanted the garden that we decided to move it and sod in the dirt patch behind the patio. Well, this lowered the ground level and we had a muddy puddle sludge all year with one cherry tomato plant that we couldn't get to because of the mud. Weeds grew in and it was a mess. I was so embarrassed, and then I was embarrassed that I was embarrassed, but couldn't ask my husband to fill in the dirt hole he had so kindly created for me. Also, being the encouraging person he is, he of course didn't advise quitting, but suggested raised beds, and trying again next year. So, year two we had raised beds. They were overrun with weeds, my carrots were not what I hoped for, but I did get a harvest of tomatoes, carrots, cucumbers, beets, and peppers, even if it was only enough for some dinners. As I discouragingly brought in my measly little carrot harvest, Danny reminded me that this was a huge improvement from last year. And from then on that's been my goal, just a little better than the year before. That comment from him helped me realize my problem with failure. I don't push through failure. I jump off that path and pick another. For the first time, I took failure, acknowledged it, and tried again. From then on, that's been my goal: just a little better than the year before. Now I'm reminding myself its about the learning, the fun, the getting my hands dirty. You know what? My garden has weeds. I don't care. I'm a weedy gardener. I know it can choke out the other stuff and the weeds will reseed and be annoying. I don't care. So, to add to the possible new ares of failure, we're starting seeds, and yes, they could all die. I agree, I haven't mastered managing the gardens I have. I'm yet to get a good harvest. I have two children that think my gardens are their tractor's playgrounds, but I'm enjoying it. It is a learning process. I'd never tell my child they can't read a book on their own because they don't know all their letters now. They both "read" all the time, sometimes very badly, sometimes seemingly perfect because they memorized it all, the point is they want to learn. It is a process and the same goes for my gardening ability. The biggest thing I realized with my problem with failure, was I can't tell my children to not give up when life is tough, if I never model it. So this year there are two goals for the garden: 1: Forget the negative comments My gardens are MY gardens. It doesn't matter what anyone else is doing. If I want to let my flowers go wild, so be it. If I want to try growing flowering vines, Yes! try it! I've failed before, what's another failure. Who knows, maybe I'll pleasantly surprise myself. 2: Include the boys. I did great at this when Danny was little, but last year I actually had a semi-decent garden and got persnickety. "Don't let those kids in or they'll ruin it." was the advice I lived by. Then came fall and I saw what I missed. My gardens produced, but I lost the thing I wanted the most, to teach them and include them in what I was doing. I vowed this year to be different. Our garden is a family garden. I want everyone to treasure it, which means teaching the boys how to do it right and giving them the same grace my husband gave me when I failed. So we plan to expand the veggie garden. The raised beds are just a pollinator garden this year due to poor crop rotation planning. The boys get their own plot to do whatever they want. No rules other than being nice to one another. Then, I want to try a sunflower fort, basically growing a horseshoe shape garden of sunflowers for them to hide in. They may stomp it down before it blooms, but as long as it brings joy that is all that matters. It's a big year of shutting out the voices of negativity, finding joy in the process, and cherishing our time together, no matter how many stomped on seedlings or harvested white strawberries we have. Praise the Lord I have a grocery store to make up for all the food we manage to kill. If all we get are mud pies, eating all the strawberries warm and fresh with dirt, and chasing butterflies, that's ok. I had to come to realize I'm not just growing veggie and flower gardens, but also gardens in the hearts of my children. I don't want to grow a garden of frustration and exasperation; harvest a year of keep outs, and don't touch its. I don't want weeds of perfectionism and resentment to choke out their blooming creativity and wonder.
Someday my gardens will be empty of children, and while they may be prolific and beautiful, I have a feeling these gardening years of crushed flowers and little footprints between the tomatoes will be the ones that we will wish to go back to. We have our first ever lambs on the farm! Meadow gave birth to healthy brown twins the first week in February. Little Danny named them Maple and Alfalfa (I was pushing for Maple and Pecan but he was set on his choice.) Thankfully they came without any hiccup, and we walked into the barn to a very calm mama with a squirming baby already trying to stand. The other three ewes we’re curiously observing from a distance, anxiously looking from us back to Meadow and wondering what on earth was happening. Oh how I wish I snapped a picture of their faces. What was supposed to be a quick barn check turned into a good hour with bundled boys playing in the barn, while we made sure the lambs got nursing. Of course Meaadow picked a day when my husband had a big bid going out and could not come home from work, so it was up to me to be the sheep doula. I had left the boys watching Mighty Machines with their castor oil packs tied on (a weird thing we’re trying for belly issues) and ran across the street. Benjy had napped late so I was late on my regular checks, which we were doing every 3 hours because we never found a barn camera that worked. Of course, that’s when she decided to have babies, when it’s frigid, my kids aren’t clothed, and my husband can’t come home. I rushed home and told the boys to bundle quick. Much to my chagrin, I discovered my phone on 5% battery and was barely able to make a call to Danny for advice. By the time we drove over to the barn the second lamb had arrived, and Benjy was crying for snacks. After a bit in the barn, worrying a little about one lamb acting cold, and realizing Benjy was stressing the sheep out with his screaming, we got back in the car and drove across the street so I could get a charger, snacks, and toys. We sat in the car a bit trying to get my phone to turn on and finally plugged it into the extension cord in the barn. It seemed like forever for my phone to get a charge enough to turn on, but I was finally able to FaceTime Danny for some advice and it began to go a little more smoothly. Benjy got some snacks, little Danny was ready to help, Meadow was calm, and I found the booster syringe I was looking for. Little Danny was so helpful, bringing fresh hay, drying lambs, collecting dirty towels. I couldn’t have herded the lambs into the lambing jug without his help. I was worried that the boys would be really freaked out by the whole birthing process but they didn’t even blink an eye. They know nothing else, so to them this was normal, and it didn’t even cross their mind that mom might be a little freaked out by it all. They thought it was great fun, although little Danny was a bit miffed Meadow didn’t eat her “polenta” (aka placenta), but he got quite the kick out of the cats doing the job. Farm life is always a combo of cute and gross. There is never just cute all on its own. It must walk hand in hand with filth. I’ll spare the details, but I thought life in the country introduced me to a whole new level of dirt. Now experiencing two little kids helping with lambing pushed us to a whole new level of germ exposure. Let’s just say my book I read last winer called, “Let Them Eat Dirt,” was preparing me way more for this day than I knew. We can’t believe how fast the little lambs grow! Maple has a little white spot on her tail and leg and Alfalfa has a little white spot on his head. They are so cute hopping around and enjoy venturing outside. Benjy has been concerned about “cydeeodees” (coyotes) but they’re locked up every night in the barn safe and sound. Unfortunately, we’re pretty confident all the other ewes aren’t bred. Why? We have no idea, but we’re thankful for two happy healthy lambs with no intervention necessary. We’re all itching for the grass to green up so they can be out on pasture, but thankfully the signs of spring are here and the ewes are already beginning to shed their winter coats. (This breed sheds so no shearing needed.) Nothing beats happy little frolicking lambs. Hopefully this is the beginning to some wonderful lambing seasons to come.
We’re in the middle of winter, still waiting for a decent snowfall, but I find my mind drifting off to dreams of garden plans and summer hayfields. Little Danny has always been obsessed with hay. Even before he was talking, Danny was clearly playing hay bales with his tractor and blocks, loading them in the barn, and feeding his animals. For the last three years he’s insisted on being a bale for Halloween and turns everything from toilet paper rolls to party streamers into hay and silage wrap. It was a cute obsession, a little off from what most kids obsess on, but we really didn’t get the fascination. Now that we own the barn, I must say there is something magical about a summer hayfield. The sweet smell of blossoms, the waves of the green grasses blowing in the breeze, the gentle hum of buzzing bees, and the hundreds of flitting butterflies with their stained glass-like wings is enough to make you never want to leave. Of course, the boys being children and not yet discontent with the world, see it for all its potential and whimsy. Like walking though C.S. Lewis’s wardrobe into Narnia, they know the secret to the magic of the hayfield. Instead of just standing and gazing down upon it as I had done, the boys immediately lay down and the beautiful field transforms into a whole new world. Suddenly, they’re swallowed by a sea of green swirling around them with amethyst blossom boats bobbing in the waves. Their heads surrounded by the humming bees and swaying grasses muffles all other sounds of the world, leaving them lost in the blue sky above. Breathing in the sweet warmth of clover and alfalfa, they lay still and quiet. In time, a monarch in search of sweet nectar will mistake them for a flower and flit past their noses, leaving a trail of sweet giggles behind. Grass seed rains down around them with every little movement, filling their hair and hiding among their shoes and clothes to shower out again later at home. In the hayfield all cares of the world seem to melt away, all worries and to-dos are left behind as time stands still. Along the border of the field are wild black raspberries we pick to snack on, milkweed for hunting caterpillars, and ground cherries with their present like paper husks to unwrap for a sweet nibble. We pick off tomato hornworms to feed to the chickens, and I’m convinced it’s the wild ground cherries that keep those pesky worms away from my tomatoes, so we welcome their growth. Goldfinch glisten in the sunlight chittering, and the redwing blackbirds call back and forth making claim on their nests. The harvesting is always exciting as it means the neighbor’s tractor will be out working. The boys sit on the fence and watch, Benjy dancing to the chung, chung, chung of the baler. Never before had I heard music in hay harvesting, but that little boy heard it so strong he couldn’t help but bounce and bob along. I must admit I’m greatly looking forward to summer hay. I miss it’s sweet smell and the peacefully content boys hiding in the grasses. I’ve always loved winter, dreaming of mountains covered in snow, but farm life has made me appreciate the summer even more. I find I’m dreaming of the busy hot days to come, maybe wishing them to come a little sooner. I haven’t lost my love of snow, but summer will always have a special place in our hearts and the magic of the hayfield.
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